A/N: Chapter title is from the song Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold.

Chapter Fourteen

Peace Of Mind Is Less Than Never

He hurt.

That was the only thing Frank could focus on. Everything hurt, and he couldn't see anything; only hear his love's voice, crying out in pain.

Help him! Get the fuck up and help him!

He struggled to move and yet couldn't, forced to listen—to remain helpless as Gerard was uncaringly put through what he had been mere moments before.

"Frank!"

Gee, I can't—I'm sorry—please!

His name was shouted again, he could feel someone shaking him, and at long last he blinked his eyes open, gasping, briefly struggling against the grasp.

"Frankie, it's okay!"

The pain vanished without him noticing, and his vision cleared to see Gerard leaning over him, eyes wide.

"Gee…I'm—I-I'm sorry…"

"What?" Gerard murmured, then shook his head as he understood, grabbing his boyfriend and embracing him. "You didn't do anything."

"I—I couldn't…" the younger Killjoy sobbed softly, pressing his head to Gerard's chest, tears silently streaming down his cheeks. He was terribly embarrassed, and yet practically too horrified of what he'd just relived to register it. He shuddered, hating every fiber of his being as his senses returned. Why did he have to be so Goddamn weak, tearful, and most awful of all, scared? He was a fucking Killjoy—more than that, he was one of their leaders. No one would look up to him if he continued on like this. He knew that he'd just been through Hell and worse, and he had somewhat of a right to be afraid, but it was the fact that he was now breaking down because of a dream that really upset him. It was disreputable and pitiful and yet he was unable to stop one bit of it, clinging to the older as tight as he could in a desperate need of comfort.

"Ssh, it's okay," Gerard soothed, stroking his hair and wishing he could do more. After a minute or two, Frank pulled himself together, moving back for a moment and blushing furiously, wanting nothing more to disappear from the uncomfortable situation. Instead, he looked around, noticing the warehouse was thankfully empty except for them. "W-where is everyone?"

"Outside," Gerard replied, carefully wiping a tear from the younger's eye, frowning as he winced a bit. "I wanted to let you sleep, but…we're ready to go."

"We're leaving?" Frank mumbled, then seeing light was just beginning to stream into the warehouse through the cracks. He hadn't been able to sleep most of the night (not surprising, as the last two nights had been the same), and he shook his head briefly as he realized he'd only been woken up a few hours after he'd managed to.

"Doc said it'll be perfect timing," Gerard nodded. "We should get there when it's still dark."

Frank looked at him, tracing over his face with his eyes, and then, disregarding everything else for the moment, kissed him longingly.

"Frank—" Gerard seemed almost frightened for a second, nearly causing Frank to stop, but then he gave a little whimper and returned it, placing his hands on the younger's cheeks. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he'd felt something just then—a spark of…happiness? Joy? Or had it been merely his imagination? It'd been there, anyway, and it was enough that he truly didn't want what was happening to end. He allowed Frank to push him onto his back and bend over him, running his fingers through his red hair, reluctantly having to pull away to breathe and resting his head on Gerard's chest, hearing his slightly quickened heartbeat and sighing, unwilling to ever leave. He felt so safe at the moment, the fear from his nightmare slowly fading away in the silence. If he could sleep like this, he was more than sure he would never be bothered by the nightmares again, or at least, not as devastatingly.

Gerard moved his arms to hold him as well, immediately freezing as his hand accidentally collided a bit roughly with the younger's side, causing him to stiffen and grimace, whining softly into the clothing he had his lips to.

"Sorry," Gerard murmured, frowning, twisting a bit so he could see as he gently lifted Frank's shirt, revealing the bruise that didn't seem to have healed much at all over the past few days. He hesitated, disinclined to ask the question he already knew the answer of. "'s that from him?"

"Yeah," Frank answered quietly, his lips forming every syllable a beat slower than they would have normally. He lowered his gaze for a moment and then moved it back, almost remorseful that he'd allowed how much discomfort it was causing him show. "It's fine. Really."

Gerard gently touched a finger to his sprained arm. "And this?"

"Fine."

Gerard shook his head and then let it rest on the ground again, heaving a long breath and gently trailing his fingers up and down his love's back, returning them to the consoling soundlessness. Regrettably, he had been feeling far too miserable lately to be much help in reassuring anyone. And although he loathed himself for thinking it, it was something of a relief that Frank was feeling similar to how he was—frightened and distressed. He seemed to wrongfully share his guilt, as well, however, and that was something that only upset the red head further. Had he somehow caused Frank to have any doubt that it had been anything but his fault?

He gently squeezed the twenty-year-old, trying to erase the possibilty from his mind, and though it remained, his eyes began to flutter shut, the peace he hadn't experienced in too long trying to ease him into slumber.

"Hey, guys, are you coming? We're heading out soon."

Gerard's eyes shot open at DJ's voice, and he lifted his head again to look at his love, tenderly stroking his cheek and watching as he blinked himself out of his half-asleep state and then untangled himself from him, taking his hand as he offered it. Gerard stood, helping him to do the same, and then put an arm around his waist as they walked out to join the others in silence.

"Hey, Party,"

Gerard heard the name yet hesitated before responding, finally blinking up at Bell as she approached him, guilt plainly displayed on her countenance.

"Yeah?" he murmured, frowning. He couldn't have cared less about what she had to say after the night before, but he kept quiet, crossing his arms and tightly pressing his still-throbbing bandaged wrist to his chest, biting his lip.

"I gotta say sorry about yesterday," she sighed, leaning against the car next to him and shaking her head. "I don't know why…I mean, I guess I was just pissed about the city, or that we almost got killed for nothing." She shrugged, and he bristled at her casualness. "I really don't know. Elise's the only person I've ever really gotten along with. Everyone else…I guess I'm just still used to fighting with everyone I talk to."

"...Your parents?"

Bell didn't move for a moment and then solemnly nodded. "They're not—they weren't the most supportive people." She paused, took a breath, and softly added, "I hope they got what they wanted."

Unable to help his curiosity as he calmed, Gerard asked, "What?"

The girl again waited a second, like she was uncertain how to answer. "More money than they ever had trying to take care of me." She forced a chuckle. "They'd ignore me for a day or two when I was younger to save a few dollars. When BLI came, it got better for a while, and then, even with the meds, they still hated me. That's when I stopped taking the pills; nothing helped anymore, so I thought, why not?

"I didn't know how great of a decision that was until I got the urge to get the fuck out of there. And so I did, found Elise after…" Her gaze lowered for a moment and she cleared her throat, suddenly seeming uncomfortable, but it faded. "It doesn't matter. We stick together; have since then and always will."

"How'd you guys hide?"

"Same way we're gonna do it again with you guys. Find an empty place no one would give a shit to check in and shut up." She grinned. "Luckily for you we know just the place." With another long sigh, she glanced at his unimpressive clothes. "You don't look like a Killjoy—that's good. You won't want to. Especially if any of you plan on blending in long enough to go out for supplies."

She paused, frowning. "Except maybe your hair." She watched as he unconsciously reached up to pull a cherry strand out of his face. "It won't matter if you're the one to go out or not. People can see that from a distance." She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "You'll probably want to dye it black."

Gerard looked away. The last part of him that showed he wasn't part of BLI's sick idea of living…and he'd have to get rid of it. He knew several of the other Killjoys had dyed hair as well that they would have to do the same with, but he was of course reluctant. It had been sole reason for him dying it in the first place, before BLI had banned it all—to stand out and make it clear he wasn't going to obey anything, that he was in fact a Killjoy. That had motivated him every time he'd broken into old, abandoned gas stations to snatch a box of bright red permanent color. They were the only places hair dye was still able to be found, for both him, Frank, and all of the others who did the same. And he hated that something that had been part of him for so long was now to be another memory.

Just like my fucking leadership.

Bell clearly saw him fighting silently with the thought, and she shrugged. "Hey, I can't force you or anything. But I'd've thought you'd wanna fit in as much as possible after what happened."

Gerard cleared his throat, his gaze going behind her. "You find hair dye, I'll do it. It's illegal, remember?"

"Yeah? I still know where to get some."

The red head half ignored her response, giving a little grunt of acknowledgement and walking off to where Mikey was limping towards a car, giving him a little smile. "You okay?"

The blonde stopped, grinning. "Just great. How're you?"

Gerard nodded and glanced around, wincing in the harsh sunlight and wishing yet again he had his sunglasses. Where had he left them, anyway? The camp they'd made the night everything had changed? He could hardly recall feeling that the worst possibilty of the moment was Dracs catching up to them, and them having to pass up sleep to run again. It seemed so frivolous now. After going days without rest, experiencing worse exhaustion than he'd ever felt or believed he would again, he wished he could have simply driven through that night—through two nights, if needed. Maybe none of this would have happened if he hadn't been focusing on everything but what he really should have been, and the ones who had died would still be around.

He caught sight of Ray towards another car and then looked quickly back at his brother, wondering how to ask what he wanted to, and then the younger briefly turned, blushing terribly as he met Gerard's gaze again. "You don't care, do you...?"

Gerard raised an eyebrow, realizing it must have been fairly obvious what he'd been thinking, and he shook his head. "So...you're...? No, I don't care. Why would I?"

Mikey nodded and then bit his lip and gave a shrug, awkwardly searching for what else to say and turning redder when he found his mind was blank, something that always seemed to happen at the worst possible times. "I-I'm gonna—go." he settled with, and then swiftly made his way off towards Ray.

"You tell 'em you knew?"

Gerard glanced at Frank as he came up beside him. "I didn't have to." He then frowned, leaning to see his love's face. "Wait, you knew?"

Frank pursed his lips like he was attempting to remain serious and shrugged, dipping his head a bit to let his hair fall into his eyes.

"You weren't gonna tell me, were you?"

"He's your brother!"

"Exactly!"

Frank couldn't prevent a soft laugh, and Gerard smiled; it was nice to see him grinning after the incident this morning. The taller reached out, combed the younger's black hair back, and then gently kissed his cheek. He then expected him to go help get the others ready, surprised when he instead turned and embraced him tightly. Gerard returned it, resting his head on the younger's. "You okay?" he murmured softly, and Frank didn't reply for a moment. Then he pulled back, nodded almost sadly, and took a long breath, turning and heading off without a word.

Gerard watched him go with a small frown and then glimpsed back at Bell, who blinked and immediately averted her gaze, attempting to cover up how clear it was that she had been staring. He watched her a second, waiting to see if she was going to say anything, but her eyes never returned to him, and so he disregarded her, cleared his throat, and went off to assist the Killjoys as well.

"Mikey,"

The blonde stirred only slightly at Ray's voice, smiling a bit as he felt a soft kiss on his forehead. "Mikes, wake up."

Mikey blinked his eyes open, hardly able to see Ray leaning over him, sitting up and realizing the car had stopped. God, had he really slept the entire way? It was already night, and he could hear quiet voices speaking from outside the vehicle.

"Feeling okay?" Ray asked kindly as he winced and rubbed his temple, looking in at him from the other side, and Mikey nodded, having been unaware how tried he'd been. "Where are we?"

"A little ways from the city. We gotta go on foot from here."

Mikey opened the door, swinging his legs out and grabbing the crutches he'd had beside him, biting his lip.

Ray bent out of the other door and limped over to him, noticing he had a sudden urgency to his actions. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mikey breathed absentmindedly, shifting uneasily and scanning where they had stopped, much more interested in finding a place he could—

"Oh," Ray interrupted his thoughts like he'd been reading them, and then he gestured towards the little hill of sand in the near distance to the left of them, and Mikey went off before he could say another word.

"Jet, come here," he heard, and he turned after a moment to see Dr. D waving him over.

"Yeah?" he asked as he approached, eyeing Bell for a moment as she smiled sweetly, surprised and thrilled at her change of attitude. One or two of the others were already enough of an annoyance to them, they hadn't needed her to join them.

"How're you and Kobra gonna be to walk?" Dr. D eyed him, and he nodded. "Fine."

Bell looked him over and then turned to the Doc. "It's dark; I don't really think we'll be too noticeable. But there still might be guards, so we've gotta be quick and silent."

"You know where we're going?" Ray questioned. "For sure?"

Bell nodded without hesitation. "There's an empty building about a ten minute walk from the way we're goin' in."

"And where's that?"

"When we get there, I'll show you," she sighed, and he rolled his eyes, repositioning his crutches and going past them, noticing Cat nervously playing with her hair, standing next to Elise and in front of Candy. "I don't know if we should do this," she was murmuring. "I-I mean, I know we need food 'n stuff, b-but…we almost got killed by BLI before! Why do we have to go back?"

She shifted fearfully, and Candy sympathetically took her shaking hand. "I promise it'll be okay."

Cat raised her ice blue eyes to her girlfriend's brown ones, blinking away the tears she was fighting. "I'm scared," she whispered, and Candy gently kissed her, running a finger along her cheek. "You think I'd let anything happen to you? Really?"

Giving a little giggle, Cat shook her head and sighed. "No. I'm just…no, I don't."

"Then trust me," Candy smiled. "We'll be fine." She glanced up at Ray, and for a brief moment, her eyes showed anything but certainty. Ray almost literally took a step back at how intense her gaze was, and he saw that she was just as scared and unsure as any of them, no matter how much she always tried to be the calm and collected one. He had known somewhere in her there must have been some fear, but in the second it showed, it looked as if it wasn't just a fear of going back into the city; it was a sudden release of everything she'd been feeling since the fight.

She blinked and it disappeared, and he realized his mouth had been open to say something despite not knowing of anything he could tell her, and before he could even attempt she had turned around and led Cat off to the others again, her head once again raised high as if nothing was wrong.

"H-hey, Jet Star?"

Ray immediately turned at the small voice, seeing Elise had come up to him, her eyes widened in excitement and then embarrassment as all she could manage was, "Um…hi."

He smiled. "Hi. You okay to go back?"

"To the city?" She shrugged. "I thought we weren't ever gonna even look back. But I'll be fine. Anyway," she added with a grin, "we get to help you guys out. That's pretty cool."

Ray eyed her and then felt a little pang of sadness. She really did resemble Missile Kid. She was her height, somewhere around five feet, and had the same gray-colored eyes that lit up when she spoke. Even her hair matched, only a little shorter and less fluffy.

Elise frowned. "What is it?"

Ray forced a tiny smile. "Don't worry about it," he told her, and then sighed softly, glancing back as he heard someone call him and seeing Mikey, looking much less stressed, and a genuine smile then edged at his lips.

"'s that everyone?" Bell called, and Rejection, who'd been standing next to her almost the whole time, said, "Yeah. What's the plan?"

Bell smirked, watching the Killjoys gather towards her, awaiting to give orders, something she absolutely loved doing; it made her feel like she was actually powerful. "Okay," she began. "Follow me, and when we get to the wall—through it—you've gotta keep going, no matter what, okay? They didn't know about the opening when we left, but that could've changed. The building we can stay at isn't far, but if they're guarding around the area…" she trailed off without planning to continue, not wanting to.

No one gave any reaction, and she frowned. "Everyone got it?"

"Yeah," Show Pony nodded, looking around at them. He knew they were all extremely unwilling to go anywhere near BLI, especially to enter another city controlled by them, but what other choice did they have? Stay out in the desert and die? After all they'd gone through?

No. That wasn't an option. This was a crazy plan, but if it worked, they would at least be able to get what they needed. A good number of them were still not back to their original states of both mental and physical health, and if they could maybe rest a few more days with the proper supplies, that could change, and they could figure out what to do from there.

"Okay then," Bell gave them all a slightly nervous smile. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be going back, either. "Let's go."

It took the group around fifteen minutes to make the walk around the perimeter of the city, far enough away that they believed they wouldn't be spotted if anyone happened to be looking, until Bell stopped them, pointing at it. "There's a break in the fence. It's covered by bushes and in an alleyway-type thing…I think that's why no one's found it."

"You broke it?" Wire asked curiously, and Bell shook her head without looking back at him. "But I love whoever did."

Gerard squinted at the city, trying to make out the details of it. Even from the odd angle they were at, it was obvious it was at least three times larger than Battery City had been, surrounded by a tall fence composed of barbed wire. There was a building in the middle of it, much bigger and taller than any of the others, quite clearly the headquarters of BLI, and he frowned, clenching his fists, hate rising inside of him like a wave. No, like a fucking tsunami, caused by everything that the company had done to them and everyone else.

That piece of shit; I'll kill him.

He flinched as someone put a hand on his shoulder, shrinking away with a gasp and turning around to look at Ray, eyes wide.

Ray stepped back, surprised at his reaction. "Sorry…I just…"

The red head bit his lip and lowered his head, stepping back and turning to the city again as Bell spoke up once more. "You guys ready? Just make sure you follow us." She glanced at Elise with a little smile and nodded, whispering, "It's okay," as she saw the twelve-year-old had a frightened expression.

Rainbow nodded. "Lead the way," she breathed nervously, and Bell sighed. "Come on." Her and Elise set off, the rest only hesitating a second before quickly following them.

As they got closer, it became very obvious that BLI was extremely intent on preventing anyone from entering or exiting it that shouldn't have—it actually resembled a prison. With the fencing surrounding it and tall buildings around the edges of it like a second barricade, and especially with all the lights shining down from certain parts of the BLI building, almost like searchlights. And most frightening was, when asked, Bell had said she'd never been sure that wasn't exactly what they were.

She stopped them as they reached the fence, grabbing at the brush around it and pulling it away to reveal a gaping hole in the wire. It didn't look like someone had simply pulled it apart, but more like they had carefully taken a pair of pliers to it for hours upon hours.

Bell shrugged to anyone who was looking at her and then carefully ducked into it, fighting through the bushes on the other side until she got out, beginning to clear it as much as she could as Elise followed.

At last she silently sighed and gestured for the rest of them to hurry. No one moved at first, and then Bullet stepped forward, bending to get past it, and Bell grabbed him as he tripped, putting her finger to her lips as he opened his mouth to thank her, instead nodding as he understood. The others cautiously did the same, the fence only rattling once, until there was only Dr. D and Skye left, almost afraid they would find his scooter too big to fit through. Thankfully, however, the man just made it in, and Bell shook her head in relief as the two joined them, frantically beginning to cover the entrance again as she whispered, "No one go anywhere."

Frank glanced around for Gerard, frowning as he did not see him for a long moment, and then realized he wasn't in the group, standing a little further down the alley, staring at the end of it. The only thing down there was an empty street, but his chin was tilted just enough that it was clear his gaze was above that, on the BLI building in the distance.

"Gee," Frank almost was inaudible as he approached the red head, who jumped and then smiled a bit as his boyfriend put an arm around his waist, looking at him in a bit of concern. "You okay?"

Gerard nodded, momentarily closing his eyes, and Frank quickly kissed his cheek, hoping to comfort him, as he clearly wasn't.

"Right," Bell mumbled, finishing and walking to get in front of them, gesturing. "This way, come on."

Feeling the brief resistance Gerard gave as he started forward, Frank glanced back at him and tightened his grip in worry, though the red head said nothing, and once they'd caught up with the group, all of their paces increased. Not enough they would be suspected of anything if seen (if their clothes were ignored, of course) but quick enough the ten minute walk was really five, and finally they stopped in front of the back entrance to what looked like an empty, abandoned corner store.

"Wait," Moon said, her gun in her hand, and she stepped towards the door, along with Rainbow, who was also armed.

Elise let out a shaky breath as they waited for the two to give the signal it was safe, tensed and looking around nervously.

"Hey," Bell murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay."

"What if—"

"It's okay," Bell smiled comfortingly, bringing her into a hug. "I promise."

She looked over to where Gerard had pulled Frank in front of him, his arms snugly clasped around his waist. The younger was leaned into him, eyes closed, looking half-asleep, but the red head was staring unblinkingly at the door the two had disappeared into, on edge, his brow furrowed a bit. He looked...scared, and considering everyone else was as well, noting that this was different was definitely something.

"It's clear," Moon quietly called to them from inside, and they filed in, Bell lingering outside a moment longer to take a last glance and assure no one was around before clicking the door shut. "All right," she then began, sounding not even the least bit concerned at the near-complete darkness they were plunged into. "No one move. Elle? You remember where the—"

She cut off as a light suddenly exploded from the opposite side of the room, and Elise yelped, covering the flashlight with her hands to only allow a bit of the harsh light out, just enough they could make her out, and she grinned awkwardly under the sudden attention. "Y-yeah, I did."

Bell snorted and then eyed the others, lifting her arms in a shrug that may have been meant to be a gesture of greeting. "Well, welcome to the place we've stayed at for, like…" she hesitated and looked at Elise. "A year? Two?"

The twelve-year-old nodded. "Something like that," she replied softly.

"A long time," Bell finished with, sighing and glancing around like everyone else was doing, though she didn't quite understand why. It was exactly very big, and it was almost completely bare. The only thing that indicated anyone had ever been there before now was the corner Elise was in, as it had two flashlights and several drawings with markers on the ground that had been scribbled over.

"We don't have anything here, 'cause, well, we weren't gonna come back." She chuckled humorlessly. "But tomorrow I can get supplies."

Breaking the silence that followed, Mikey gave a soft groan, wincing and leaning against the wall. Cat grabbed him to steady him, lowering him to ground when it was clear that wouldn't happen, taking his crutches as he distractedly released them before they could fall.

Gerard kneeled beside him in worry. "What's wrong?"

"Hit my foot—" he muttered, "—on the fence…I'm okay."

The red head gently took his hand, frowning, and Dr. D, who had turned his scooter towards them, eyed him in uncertainty. "Do you want—"

"No," Mikey shook his head immediately, closing his eyes, knowing what he'd been going to ask. The man had only brought so many painkillers in the box of medicine he'd gathered together from his van, only filled with what he absolutely needed to have in case something happened, and he refused to waste them. He just needed to sleep. "I'm fine."

It was all too familiar for both Frank and Ray, but they were relieved he had the option of lessening the pain if it got to be too much instead of being forced to endure it like before.

"We should get some rest," Rejection said softly, knowing most if not all of them had already been thinking of doing precisely that.

The seventeen almost silently settled down, and once Bell was positive everyone was safely on the ground, she looked at Elise and nodded slightly.

The flashlight clicked off and the darkness returned, the only source of light being a very dull, nearly non-existent beam coming through a few holes in the small, single, boarded up window, from what must have been a streetlight outside of the place.

Gerard blinked, allowing his vision to adjust, and then squinted around for Frank, at last seeing him leaning against the wall closest to the window, arms crossed and head lowered, already seeming like he'd fallen asleep.

The red head glanced back at Mikey, who was clearly out cold, and then at Ray beside him, gently holding the blonde's arm, and, with a brief hesitation, Gerard slowly released his younger brother's hand and stood. Then, blinking at the ground to assure he didn't trip, he quietly made his way over to his boyfriend, sitting next to him with a wince, attempting not to bother him.

Frank looked up almost immediately and then scooted next to him, leaning against his shoulder, and Gerard gave a small smile, clasping his hand with his boyfriend's and kissing his head. He then closed his eyes, trying to fight off his fear so he could sleep. They were back where the enemy could easily get to them if they tried, and the thought of being captured again—of having to go through anything even slightly similar—it was more terrifying than any other thing he could possibly think of. He absolutely couldn't handle being beaten and drugged and—and whatever else again.

'You are, and always have been, too weak.'

Gerard flinched at the words, resulting in Frank nestling even closer, and yet something in him questioned whether or not they were correct. Was he weak? He certainly hadn't the strength to stand what he had before, but that was only because he was still recovering, right? It'd all return eventually—it had to.

The mere memory of being forced to remain awake for days immediately increased his sense of exhaustion, and he gratefully let the void of nothingness overtake him.

Wire awoke with a wince, raising his head to see where the shuffling he heard was coming from, blinking in the dull light creeping in from between the wood on the window.

Bell stopped moving, staring at him in surprise. "Sorry," she mouthed silently.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes and keeping his voice very low as he asked, "Where're you going?"

"Out," she whispered in response. "To get supplies." She smiled sweetly. "You wanna come?"

"Um," Wire blushed. "Sure."

Bell gestured and then started towards the door, waiting until the Killjoy had gotten to his feet, stifling a yawn and following her, careful not to disturb the others, before she opened it, allowing him out before she slipped into the alleyway as well, gently closing it behind her.

Blinking in the very dull morning light, Bell sighed and then looked the younger over. His clothes weren't too noticeably different—colorful, yes, but not to the extreme like a lot of the others were. His blonde hair was also not dyed, and as he'd be staying in the shadows, anyway, she realized he was probably the perfect person to have come with her, the one least likely to get caught.

"All right," she nodded the opposite direction of the street, "we're taking that way."

Wire cautiously went alongside her as she walked, her pace almost nonchalant, like she had done this a hundred times before—and, really, she probably had. He wasn't exactly too concerned either; they were walking down a darkened back path, one he highly doubted would be being patrolled by anyone. Though he couldn't be too sure, with as much as Bell had said they had increased their defense.

"Does this place have a lot of guards?" Wire asked, and Bell shrugged. "Depends how many a lot is to you. I'd say yeah, compared to how many there used to be—and I thought that was too many." She glanced at him. "Did Battery City?"

"Yeah. I mean, from what I remember. I got out, like, two years ago, so there could've been more before…" he trailed off and looked away, and Bell sighed. "Sorry."

"Did you know anyone there?"

Bell gave a little jerk in her walking, like she'd nearly stopped and yet continued anyway. It was silent for a moment, and then she nodded. "That's where a friend of mine told me a long time ago he was going. I don't know if he ever made it or what, but, now…" she paused and swallowed hard, running a hand through her hair. "I almost hope he didn't. Maybe…"

She stopped again and shook her head. "Whatever," she murmured, her tone an obvious ending of the conversation.

Wire cleared his throat quietly and neither spoke again until Bell halted in front of the back door of small store, biting her lip. "Stay here."

"You've got money?"

"Nope," Bell gave him a little mischievous grin and then inched the door open, peering inside before going through it, closing it behind her.

Wire sighed and leaned against the wall across from it, glancing around. Now that it was lighter out, he could better see around where he was, a bit disappointed when he found nothing interesting; just a long few corridors that were mostly enclosed in shadows, ending in another street further down. Not that he wasn't okay with there being nothing exciting around, of course—he was more than okay with that. He and the others had had enough of that probably to last the rest of their lives.

He frowned as a very quick memory flashed through his mind, of when he was much younger, before BLI had gotten to be such a controlling agency. When he and his friends had been able to still be children, to have fun without being monitored or having to pretend to be on the same medication everyone else was. He'd never taken them—he'd always hide them in his room and copy how his parents and brother acted. But his friends had started changing as well after a while, and no matter how hard he attempted to act the same as them, he couldn't, and they've eventually stopped wanting to play with him. He always chose his emotions over having friends, though, and that was perhaps the very decision that had caused him to grow up faster than he would've liked.

But all that was over now; he couldn't dwell on what he was incapable of changing. He just had to make sure it didn't happen to anyone else.

After an undetermined amount of time simply standing there, he finally frowned, stepping towards the door in a bit of concern. How long had it been since she'd gone in? What if something had gone wrong? Or someone had caught her? Or—

You're turning into Cat, he told himself, trying to shake off the anxiety, only it didn't go away, and with an exasperated sigh, he gently gripped the knob of the door, edging it slowly open until he could see inside. It was a storage room by the looks of it, and he bit his lip, looking at the boxed food in longing as his stomach growled. Why hadn't Bell just grabbed something and gotten out? That had been what she meant she was coming for, hadn't it?

He cracked it more, hearing voices that were incomprehensible from where he was, and quickly jumped inside and quickly shut the door behind him.

A hand immediately on the gun holster around his waist, he stepped forward, straining to make out what whoever talking was saying, still failing. They were whispering, he finally realized, and that only irritated him, enough that he continued towards them, set on assuring Bell was all right, hitting his shoulder on a rack. He clenched his teeth so he wouldn't make any noise, starting forward again—and then gasped as whatever he'd bumped into crashed into something else, causing a metallic clang to ring out behind him, echoing so loud that Wire believed it could have probably alerted everyone in the BLI building from here.

The voices stopped, and the Killjoy exhaled sharply, grabbing his gun and shakily holding it out. There were a few heavy footsteps, and a man in his early thirties peered back, looking at him so strangely Wire nearly wasn't afraid. His hair was disheveled, short, and a light shade of brown that matched his narrowed eyes, and he was dressed in a dark green, which Wire was grateful meant that at least he wasn't working for the company.

"What're you doing here?" the man demanded, and then caught sight of his ray gun, his expression becoming confused.

"Ash, he's with me," Bell murmured, coming up beside the man, frowning at Wire. "'Stay here' meant stay there."

"S-sorry…?" Wire mumbled, slowly lowering the weapon, eyeing the man—Ash—who had looked away from the gun since he'd seen it. "Who…?"

"Ah," Bell began, clearing her throat, "this is my friend, Ashton." She gestured at the Killjoy, looking at the man. "And this is—"

"Electrical Wire," the younger interrupted, frowning.

"You…you're a Killjoy?" Ashton finally managed, sounding truly at a loss for words. "Shit! I thought BLI got rid of the rest of you months ago."

Wire's frown only deepened. The man didn't sound upset he was here, he seemed…intrigued, almost. "What?"

"They killed off or captured all the Killjoys who used to rebel outside the city," Bell explained. "The ones who got away must've spread the word—we haven't seen any come back."

Ashton turned to her quizzically. "So why did you? You left days ago, I thought…well, I thought you were either dead or not coming back."

Bell shivered. "I almost was. But this one and a group of others helped me out."

"Bell—" Wire whispered desperately, and Ashton gave a small chuckle. "You don't trust me."

Wire looked him over without replying.

"Look kid," he said with a kind smile, "believe it or not, I used to be a Killjoy, too." He laughed at Wire's surprise. "Yeah. Used to rebel like the rest of ya—long time ago. Got outta Battery City and never looked back, found a few of you guys, and joined for a year or two."

"You left?" Wire questioned. "Why?"

"I don't know," Ashton shrugged. "I wanted to explore more. Went off on my own, almost died, and decided I'd rather live in this city than have them leave me to die." He pointed at him. "Which, trust me, they would've done without blinking."

"They let you just…go on living, like nothing happened?"

"About a month in a Correction Center later, yeah." Ashton clicked his tongue. "You ever been in one of those, kid? Not fun."

Wire hadn't himself, but several of the others had, and he knew enough to be certain they were anything but pleasant. Anyone caught not taking medication or breaking laws were sent to them to be "corrected" in any ways thought necessary. In Battery City, there had been four; here, that number could have easily been doubled—tripled, even.

"So…you do take meds?"

Ashton lowered his voice even more than it had been. "Do you?"

"Of course not," Wire scoffed, and as the man gave a little, hardly noticeable nod, he understood he'd answered for him. "Then you just pre—"

"Kid, I don't—we shouldn't talk here, okay?"

Bell glanced at him, pausing a moment to recall information. "This place doesn't open till nine, right?"

"Why? Where're you hiding out this time?"

Wire looked around for cameras, hesitant, but Bell clearly had an utter sense of trust for the man. "Same place. Can you come?"

Ashton lifted his head slightly to glimpse at the clock on the wall, which read 7:14 A.M., and then stepped towards her. "Yeah."

Wire was absolutely frozen, his blue eyes fixed on the numbers, and Ashton frowned at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine." Wire murmured, snapping out of his daze and turning to him. "What day is it?"

"Ah…Thursday."

Wire grinned. When had he last known both of those things? It had to have been at least a year. He'd had a watch with him the day he had escaped, but it had stopped working a few months after he'd joined up with the Killjoys, and he had decided that, instead of trying to fix it, he would throw it out. They had no use for knowing the time out there, and it had never bothered him, but he knew he would have taken the option of being told it if it had come up, and it felt strange at last finding out.

Ashton shrugged and then gestured at Bell, who nodded and turned, leading the man out and waiting for Wire to follow.

"Bell," he whispered as he passed her, urgently trying to explain his uncertainty about what she was doing, and she rolled her eyes. "Ash has helped me and Elle out for years, okay? I trust him."

He frowned and bit his lip as she started off, and then watched as Ashton followed her, closely walking behind him. What was Bell doing? Sure she trusted him, but still—showing him everyone a day after they'd gotten there? It was definitely a big risk—much more of one than he felt they needed to be taking at the time.

He was still lost in thought when they arrived back, Bell opening the door and stepping in. Wire forced himself through in front of the man, prompting an amused laugh, and he gazed at the Killjoys, who were almost all awake, now staring at the newcomer in surprise.

"How the living hell," Ashton began, startled, speaking to Bell without glancing at her, "did you sneak all of these—"

"Ash!" Elise suddenly shouted, jumping up from where she'd been sitting and practically tackling the man, who smiled and gave her a quick hug. "Hey, kiddo." His voice took on a saddened tone. "Didn't think I'd be seeing either of you again."

Elise grinned even bigger, and then Bell addressed the Killjoys, seeming a little awkward. "Um…this is Ashton. He's helped us out for…a long time."

Ashton looked up at them again, eyeing each one of them until he saw the man in the scooter, who was staring back with a mixture of shock and confusion, more so than any of the others.

Frowning, Ashton slowly blinked at him, once, twice, and then his chin quickly tilted down just an inch in disbelief, clearly stunned as he seemed to remember something.

"…Steve?"